Drop deadline approaches

Hey, everyone! Pay attention! The drop deadline is coming up, and really fast, we might add. Now is the time to get your schedule in order, organize your notes, and figure out if it is worth it to continue being enrolled in that class or if you would be better off dropping it. Whatever you do, don’t miss that deadline; the hassle that needs to be dealt with if you miss that date is not worth your while. Remember to mark the date on your calendar: October 19; that is this year’s drop deadline without appeal for everyone.

Now, if you don’t want to drop the class, or if it’s not an option, consider the following ways to get up to speed: 1) Ask your TAs for help; they are a great resource that goes underutilized. 2) Try asking the Advising and Learning Assistance Center for tutoring help. This is another one of those underutilized resources that is available on campus. ALAC has a tutoring schedule available for your perusal on its website: http://alac.rpi.edu/. However, if you show up at the last hour before the assignment is due, you make it much more difficult for people to help you. Come prepared if you want to ask for help. It is unfair to demand help when you show up not even having read what the assignment entails. 3) Go talk to your professor. We know, we know, it’s scary, it’s hard, and it’s out of your way, but sometimes speaking with the professor can help you understand some of the things that are unclear to you during the lecture. And in reality, they aren’t that scary at all.

Looking ahead to the rest of the semester: the preliminary finals schedule is up (read: you can find a copy of it in this issue of The Poly or on the registrar’s website). Take a look at it and make sure you don’t have any conflicting exams. If there is a conflict, there is a whole procedure on how to fix it available on the registrar’s website. Get this done prior to the week before finals or else dire consequences will result. Looking at the finals schedule early and figuring out which finals you have will also help you figure out your study plan for finals.

All in all, get yourself organized and decide whether you need to drop a class before October 19. If you don’t want to drop the class, speak with someone to get caught up. And lastly, check out the finals schedule to see if you have any conflicts, and get that sorted out.